Adam Tiernan and his family live in Iowa, where they keep chickens as a hobby. Recently, they decided to add to their flock by incubating a few fertilized eggs themselves — but they were soon called upon to act as "mom" in a way they never expected.

Despite their best efforts, only one egg proved viable, but even then it was no easy birth: The chick inside was having trouble hatching completely, and needed the family's help to escape the egg.

Afterward, they discovered that the tiny chick needed more help yet. She'd been born with curled toes, meaning that she couldn't walk or stand.

Rather than dispose of the newborn bird because of that defect, the Tiernans became even more invested.

After some searching around the internet, they found a solution to fix the chick's deformed toes. By simply applying tape to the bird's feet, her toes would be extended, and in time the correct position would hopefully set — so that's exactly what they tried.

And thanks to those custom "shoes," the chick was finally up on her feet and walking (albeit a little unsteadily).

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Adam Tiernan

About a week later, it was time for the tape to be removed.

"We put the chick on the counter to see if it could keep its toes straight, and the little thing took off at full speed — almost ran off the counter!" Adam Tiernan told The Dodo, adding that the bird "has since been nicknamed Nitro."